Three weeks ago, I attended the funeral of two deputy sheriffs, both in their 20s. Sergeant Noel Ramirez Jr. and Deputy Taylor Lindsey were fatally ambushed at a local restaurant in Gilchrist County, Florida. They were killed because their uniforms represented law and order.

Tragedies like these have become far too common. In 2017, 93 law enforcement officers died on duty throughout the nation, with 46 of them killed in line-of-duty incidents as the result of felonious acts. On May 13, the names of the 93 fallen officers were formally dedicated on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington D.C. during the 30th Annual Candlelight Vigil. Three of them were from the Northern District of Florida: Master Sergeant William Trampas Bishop of the Florida Highway Patrol, Escambia County Corrections Officer Joe William Heddy Jr., and Florida Department of Agriculture Officer Joshua Sanchez Montaad. These brave officers made the ultimate sacrifice.

Sometimes we forget that all officers make sacrifices every day, even when the rest of us are off duty. They work hurricanes, holidays, and homecoming games. How many nights and weekends was Sergeant Ramirez away from his two young children? How many times do we expect officers to put our needs above their own? A career in law enforcement means decades of constant vigilance.

As we enjoy the comfort their security provides, officers are responding to situations that can turn from routine to risky instantaneously. Those of us who don’t wear badges may fret about deadlines at work, but we don’t worry that someone will try to kill us. With alarming frequency, criminals try to avoid apprehension by aiming their cars directly at the arresting officers and stepping on the accelerator.

In the civilian world, we may question the air quality of our unventilated office space. Officers must wonder whether that white powder drifting through the air at a drug scene will be fentanyl, which can stop their breath entirely. When officers respond to a report of an armed man or make a traffic stop alone late at night, the only thing certain is that afterward, people who were not there will leisurely dissect their every move and decision.

Justice Holmes once famously wrote, “detached reflection cannot be demanded in the presence of an uplifted knife.” Yet this superhuman self-detachment is what our society increasingly demands.

This week, during National Police Week, we especially recognize the grace law enforcement officers show in the face of these demands and celebrate the everyday heroes they are.

Christopher P. Canova is the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, which includes the state Capital and the 23 counties from Escambia to Alachua.

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